


The Undefeated Princess

by Emerald_Alex



Category: Darwin's Game
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Chains, F/M, Kaname is a badass, One is a little bitch, Shuka is a badass, With a very small ego, curse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:54:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25550032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emerald_Alex/pseuds/Emerald_Alex
Summary: A long time ago, when stories and legends were told or sung by minstrels, there was one that was requested in every village, every castle. Everyone knew it by heart and every child played it or dreamed of living it. It was a story of battles, honor and, most importantly, of love. The story of the undefeated princess and her knight. The story of the two lovers, Shuka and Kaname.
Relationships: Kaname/Shuka, Karino Shuka/Sudo Kaname
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	The Undefeated Princess

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SugarFeather](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SugarFeather/gifts).



> Apparently this is the first work in this fandom soooooo welp, first I guess. I hope you like it and we really need more fanwork for this universe. 
> 
> Thanks to my dear Sassmate for being the best beta ever 
> 
> Enjoy !

A long time ago, when stories and legends were told or sung by minstrels, there was one that was requested in every village, every castle. Everyone knew it by heart and every child played it or dreamed of living it. It was a story of battles, honor and, most importantly, of love. The story of the undefeated princess and her knight. The story of the two lovers, Shuka and Kaname. 

The story goes as follows. 

Once upon a time a princess lived in a castle. She was reputed in all the kingdoms for her beauty but also for her dexterity with a weapon. Indeed the princess was a formidable fighter. It is told that ever since she was a child she showed an interest for combat but, being a lady, was not allowed to learn. After being reprimanded by her father the king, she ran and hid herself in the donjon, refusing to see any other person. There, all alone, she found the chains that were used to hold the prisoners. Intrigued she undid one and started to spin it around her. She stayed there for hours, familiarising herself with the weight and the length of her newfound weapon. She came back to the inhabited parts of the castle where everyone was looking for her, afraid she had gotten hurt or worse. While the servants were fussing over the few injuries she gave to herself while training, she smiled politely, reassuring everyone and promising to never disappear in such a way again. Inside herself though, she was more determined than ever. Years passed and she trained herself as often as she could, waking up in the middle of the night to go to the donjon. She became extremely skilled with chains, able to strike with precision and violence any target. But still her prowess were a secret, only known by herself. 

This changed when, one day, the castle was attacked. The guards were quickly overwhelmed and the royal family was apprehended. While her father used to be a brilliant swordsman, years without practice allowed the attackers to defeat him easily. Her mother had never picked up a weapon in her life and did not even try to resist. So the princess grabbed her chains from where she was hiding them and in a matter of seconds the enemies were lying on the ground wounded or dead. She didn’t bother to give them a glance as she stepped over them to join the guards to fight by their side. However, she quickly took the lead and got rid of every single enemy soldier. The few that managed to escape told stories of the terrifying angel of vengeance that struck them down with weapons no one knew how to fight. Terrified they talked about her beauty, only equaled by her lack of pity in her eyes for those who threatened her people. That is when the legend of the undefeated princess was born. It is also where our story finally starts.

One day, messengers were sent in every corner of every kingdom with a simple message : the undefeated princess, Shuka, was to take a husband and anyone who could defeat her in combat could ask for her hand. 

While some were scared and knew they didn’t stand a chance, many believed the stories to be exaggerated and thought themselves better than anyone and especially a woman. The next week a long line of pretenders waited in front of the arena where the princess methodically left each with broken bones and broken pride. This went on for weeks until the son of a powerful sorcerer arrived : the knight One, son of Long Feng the Dragon. Just like every other pretender he thought highly of himself and was sure he could defeat the princess. But like every one of them, his ego was badly hurt when his sword hit the ground, snatched from his hands by his opponent’s chains. The princess was starting to grow tired of the incessant fights and the unending line of pretenders, and rudely threw him away after defeating him. As they say, the bigger the ego, the harder the fall. So he went home, but as he was telling his sorrow to his father, he was mocked. Wanting revenge he stole one of his books of curses and looked for the worst one he could find. If she loved her chains so much then they should become a part of her. If she loved to fight so much then she should attack every person she met. Finally, since he believed her unable to love, then only true love would be her solution. She had to love and be loved in return. Before he could lose his anger he threw the curse. 

In front of the entire court, Shuka was swallowed by a tornado of chains, swirling violently around her. When the calm came back, black chains emerged from her back, fused with her hair like Medusa’s snakes, replaced her clothes and enveloping her like bands of tissue. It was as if her and her chains had become one. No one could see where skin ended and metal started. But the worst had yet to arrive. Suddenly when everybody started to relax, her eyes turned black and the chains started whipping and attacking the people around her. They were strangling, ripping and crushing, turning the throne room into a literal bloodbath. Finally a guard managed to knock her out, stopping the slaughter. The king and the queen, alarmed, called for every warlock, sorceress or witch that lived in the kingdom. They all gave the same prognostic : she was cursed and could only be cured with true love. Her parents, despite their heavy heart, decided to lock her in a high tower where she couldn’t hurt anyone. They also sent out word that she had been cursed and that the one who could break the curse would win her hand and rule over the kingdom with her.

Many tried and many failed. Many died even. Decades passed and no one seemed to be able to break the curse. The king and the queen, as they settled into old age, were losing all hope to ever see their daughter again before their death. All of this changed when a young man came upon the tower. He was from a far far away kingdom and had never heard the tale and tragedy of the undefeated princess. He was simply roaming the lands, hoping to find a purpose. As he traveled, his sword and his horse his only companions, he stopped often to help wherever he was needed, saving lost children and slaying evil men. His name was Kaname. As he approached the princess’ prison, he heard her singing. Surprised, as he thought it empty, he called out for her. He walked quickly closer and closer, as she went silent. Suddenly a long black chain shot straight toward him, forcing the young man to duck and run to safety. Once he was at a safe distance, the chain calmed down, winding itself around the top of the tower. He called out, white flag ready, not knowing if he should worry for the inhabitant or just stay away. He didn’t get any answer for a certain time and was ready to leave when a second chain came and put down on the ground at a safe distance a piece of paper. He waited until the chain was far and carefully went to pick up the message. On it was written, in a beautiful handwriting: “Sorry, I didn’t mean to attack you”. Surprised, he took a pen and wrote back to tell her that it was fine. Not wanting to risk another attack however, he simply folded the paper into a planner and sended it close enough so one of the chains could catch it, returning it to the mysterious inhabitant of the tower. And after that, they just kept writing to one another. 

Somehow days became weeks and weeks became months. Before he realized it, he had been here a year. He would help in the village nearby and hunt to find food and water but spend most of his waking hours with his mysterious lady, writing to her and listening to her singing. However he still had no idea who she was, he only knew she had been cursed to attack anyone who came close to her. Despite this, he could feel himself slowly falling in love with her. 

Then, one day, everything changed. 

He was in the village when a messenger arrived, dressed all in black but with the royal emblem embroidered on his clothes. He called for a village assembly and solemnly announced that the queen had peacefully passed away in her sleep. By the reaction of every villager the young man realized how loved the queen was and immediately his thoughts went to his lady in chains who was still unaware what had happened. So he made his way to the tower to tell her the sad news. He took a paper, wrote it down and sent it to her as they were used to doing. For a few moments everything was silent. Then, he heard crying. Worried about her he started approaching, forgetting for the curse a moment. Here he was, running up the stairs in the building he had never entered before. Finally he was inside her chamber. 

Too caught up in her distress she didn’t hear him approach, and because of this the curse took a small second to react to his presence. So for this small instant he got to stare in her tear-filled eyes before they turned black and the chains violently attacked him. He dodged, running wherever he could, trying to find a way to reach her and stay alive. Growing up without parents he always had to adapt and think his way through situations. His sword was useless against her but his mind had always been his strongest weapon. So he jumped on the bed, swirling around its four posters until the chains were so tangled they couldn’t move anymore. Finally, having outsmarted the undefeatable princess, he cautiously approached, kneeling in front of her to be at her level. He felt like he was in front of a wounded animal, as she was thrashing against the restraint that her own weapons had become. But no matter the danger or his fear he neither moved nor left. The princess must have hurt herself during the fight because red was dripping out of a cut on her cheekbone. Slowly he took out a handkerchief and gently patted on the injury to dry out the blood. She stilled and he feared he had just made things worse. But before he could think about escaping the blackness of her eyes started to fade back to brown and her chains calmed down, almost like they were appeasing themselves. 

Just like before the fight, he was faced with the princess’ true eyes but filled this time with surprise and hope instead of sorrow. Staring down in those hazels he could find the girl he had been writing to for a year and by the look on her face, she also recognised him. He hadn’t realized it but while they were lost in each other’s eyes her chains had entangled themselves from the four posters bed and were resting on the ground around them, like sleeping childrens. The princess brought her hands to his face, resting them on his cheeks, bringing out two lovers even closer. They were so closed that she barely needed to move to finally kiss him. In answer the young man embraced her, kissing back earnestly. Lost in each other they barely saw the chains starting to turn around them, enveloping them in a black whirlwind, strangely benevolent. When the light hit them again, when they opened their eyes, the chains were laying on the stone. Gone was the curse and released was the princess’ body from her weapons’ hold. She finally felt human again, devoid of the rage and bloodthirst that usually accompanied every waking hour. 

When they finally made their way down the tower, all the village was gathered at its foot, allerted by the strange lights that came from the cursed building. The messenger who knew Shuka’s identity was the first to kneel to her but he was quickly followed by everybody else. While the inhabitants wanted to organise a feast to celebrate the return of their princess, she hadn’t forgotten the passing of her mother and asked the royal messenger to bring them to the castle, promising them to be back. The three of them rode back, as fast as they could and when they arrived word had already run around all of the kingdom that the undefeated princess was free. Upon seeing his daughter back to him, it is said that the king burst into tears, forgetting all protocol to run down and embrace her. A few days later he abdicated and gave her the crown. A year later she married her savior. 

They became benevolent rulers, feared by their enemies and loved by their people, leading with a firm hand and a wise mind their kingdom. After all their struggles they won their happy ending.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it,
> 
> With Love,
> 
> Alex.
> 
> P.S.: links for the various crises happening in the world, and don't forget to vote come November!  
> Black Lives Matter petitions, donations, and other resources here: https://t.co/ScNVY4VxD2?amp=1  
> If you can't donate, here's a youtube playlist where all proceeds from the videos are being donated to various BLM charities: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlhfJSrlPNthnoD1XFDHzmdf6Mpt2pe-2&feature=share  
> Yemen Crisis links here: https://yemencrisis.carrd.co/  
> COVID-19 and others (U.S. Specific) here: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/news/covid-19-resources-services-support


End file.
